Frequently Asked Questions
No, most homeowners polices provide liability for premise only (the house and land) and exclude business practices. Homeowners is designed to protect your home, personal assets, and liability related to your home. You as an interpreter are in the field off premise at various locations/appointments interpreting away from your home premise. Even if you are home interpreting, we cover the Professional Liability / Errors and Omissions as well that is part of this program.
Yes, you as a customer have the right to cancel the policy to be replaced by this new program and receive all the enhanced coverage now!
RID researched the best available Insurance programs and selected DHH July 1, 2008 as the most service orientated and deaf friendly provider available today! The new program provides most comprehensive insurance coverage to meet the today's marketplace. Many vendors/contractors are requiring having General Liability Insurance to be able to interpreter in the field. Our program has been designed to provide this as well as Professional Liability / Errors and Omissions all under one form! Many vendors are requesting the Certificates of Insurance which our program will issue it at no cost. Additional to this new program, we also offer $5,000 for personal property coverage which will cover you if your laptop or cell phone was stolen during your assignments.
General Liability insurance provides coverage for bodily injury and property damage that you may cause to others. Examples include:
- An interpreter is interpreting in a conference room and accidentally knocked over a coffee cup onto an open laptop of the client.
- While providing interpreter services in a hospital, a piece of medical equipment is accidently knocked over by the Interpreter
This coverage can help to pay for this damage, and it is becoming a frequent request that your clients such as a school, a court, a government agency to require that you have this coverage in order for you to come on their premises. In fact, they may ask you to cover them on your policy for your actions that might harm their clients or customers. See question #6 on additional insured coverage.
Like general liability, E&O insurance provides coverage for damage that is caused to others, but it is specific to the rendering or failure to render a professional service. Examples include:
- An Interpreter mistakenly translates a doctor's instructions as 4 pills every 2 hours instead of 2 pills every 4 hours.
- An interpreter does not translate the entire discussion, and the client is not made aware of the conditions of the verbal agreement.
Many times an organization (school, hospital, court, etc.) will ask you – the free lance interpreter- to provide proof of insurance. The proof comes from a Certificate of Insurance, which DHH can issue to the organization.
Sometimes; however, the organization will ask you for this proof along with a request to cover them on your policy for any claims, loss, damage, or suit from others who you might get injured during the course of your interpreting.
This request to be covered under your policy is known as "Additional Insured" coverage. Adding the organization to your policy actually increases the exposure for the insurer, and many insurance companies charge extra to add this coverage.
Under the RID Free Lance Interpreter Insurance Program which is offered through DHH Insurance Agency and which is underwritten by Philadelphia Insurance Companies, there is NO added cost for this coverage. It is provided automatically.
